> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developers.gamma.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developers.gamma.app/generations/get-generation-status.md).

# GET /generations/{id}

Use this endpoint to poll an existing generation until `status` is `completed` or `failed`. This is where you receive `gammaUrl`, `exportUrl`, and `credits`.

### How polling works

After starting a generation with `POST /generations` or `POST /generations/from-template`, poll this endpoint every 5 seconds using the returned `generationId`. Most generations complete within 1-3 minutes.

### Generation states

| Status      | Meaning              | What to do                                        |
| ----------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| `pending`   | Still generating     | Keep polling every 5 seconds                      |
| `completed` | Done                 | Stop polling — use the URLs and credit data below |
| `failed`    | Something went wrong | Stop polling — check the `error` object           |

### What you get back on completion

| Field               | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `gammaUrl`          | Link to view or share the generated Gamma                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| `exportUrl`         | Download URL for the exported file (if `exportAs` was set). Format matches `exportAs`: `pdf` and `pptx` download directly; `png` returns a `.zip` with one PNG per card. Anyone with the URL can download until it expires (about one week); access is not tied to your API key. Treat the link as a secret — do not log it, share it, or embed it in client-side code. |
| `gammaId`           | The file ID (e.g. `g_l0mf2jvf1fpmi1v`). Use this for management endpoints such as [GET /gammas/{gammaId}](/management/get-gamma.md), `POST /gammas/{gammaId}/archive`, or `DELETE /gammas/{gammaId}`.                                                                                                                                                                   |
| `credits.deducted`  | Credits consumed by this generation                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| `credits.remaining` | Credits left in the workspace after this generation                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |

## Get generation status

> Retrieves the current status of a generation job. Poll this endpoint until status is "completed" or "failed".

```json
{"openapi":"3.0.0","info":{"title":"Gamma Public API","version":"1.0"},"tags":[{"name":"public-api","description":"Public API endpoints for external integrations"}],"servers":[{"url":"https://public-api.gamma.app","description":"Production"}],"security":[{"api-key":[]}],"components":{"securitySchemes":{"api-key":{"type":"apiKey","in":"header","name":"X-API-KEY","description":"API key for authentication"}},"schemas":{"GenerationStatusResponse":{"type":"object","properties":{"generationId":{"type":"string","description":"Unique identifier for the generation job"},"status":{"type":"string","description":"Current status of the generation job","enum":["completed","failed","pending"]},"gammaId":{"type":"string","description":"File ID of the generated Gamma (when completed)"},"gammaUrl":{"type":"string","description":"URL to the generated Gamma (when completed)"},"error":{"description":"Error details (when failed)","allOf":[{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse"}]},"exportUrl":{"type":"string","description":"URL to download the exported file (when exportAs was specified).\nThe file format matches exportAs: `pptx` → .pptx, `pdf` → .pdf, `png` → a .zip archive containing one PNG per card (not a single PNG file).\nAnyone with this URL can download the file until it expires (about one week) — access is not tied to your API key. Treat the link as a secret: don't log it, share it, or embed it in client-side code."},"credits":{"description":"Credit usage information","allOf":[{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/CreditsResponse"}]},"pages":{"description":"Per-page results for multi-page generations.\nOnly present when the generation was created with a `pages` array.","type":"array","items":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/PageGenerationResult"}}},"required":["generationId","status"]},"ErrorResponse":{"type":"object","properties":{"message":{"type":"string","description":"Human-readable error message"},"statusCode":{"type":"number","description":"HTTP status code"}},"required":["message","statusCode"]},"CreditsResponse":{"type":"object","properties":{"deducted":{"type":"number","description":"Number of credits deducted for this operation"},"remaining":{"type":"number","description":"Remaining credits in the workspace"}},"required":["deducted","remaining"]},"PageGenerationResult":{"type":"object","properties":{"gammaId":{"type":"string","description":"Doc ID of this page within the File."},"gammaUrl":{"type":"string","description":"Direct URL to this page."},"status":{"type":"string","description":"Current status of this page's generation.","enum":["completed","failed","pending"]},"error":{"description":"Error details if this page failed.","allOf":[{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse"}]},"exportUrl":{"type":"string","description":"URL to download this page's exported file (present only when\n`exportAs` was specified). Each page is exported independently; the\nfile format matches `exportAs` (`pptx` → .pptx, `pdf` → .pdf,\n`png` → a .zip of one PNG per card)."}},"required":["gammaId","gammaUrl","status"]}}},"paths":{"/v1.0/generations/{id}":{"get":{"description":"Retrieves the current status of a generation job. Poll this endpoint until status is \"completed\" or \"failed\".","operationId":"getGenerationStatus","parameters":[{"name":"id","required":true,"in":"path","description":"The unique generation ID returned from the create endpoint","schema":{"type":"string"}}],"responses":{"200":{"description":"Generation status retrieved successfully","content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/GenerationStatusResponse"}}}},"400":{"description":"Invalid request parameters"},"401":{"description":"Invalid or missing API key"},"404":{"description":"Generation not found"}},"summary":"Get generation status","tags":["public-api"]}}}}
```

{% hint style="info" %}
For usage patterns, see [Poll for results](/guides/async-patterns-and-polling.md).
{% endhint %}

## Related

* [Poll for results](/guides/async-patterns-and-polling.md) for complete polling implementations
* [POST /generations](/generations/create-generation.md) if you need to start a new generation first


---

# Agent Instructions
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## Querying This Documentation
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Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://developers.gamma.app/generations/get-generation-status.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

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